5 Tips to Stay Compliant with LL84 Benchmarking Regulations

Building owners and property managers in NYC are coping with numerous regulations that help combat climate change. This corresponds to the city’s goal to reduce greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050.

This law covers the LL84, a law that requires building owners to be benchmarked on their energy use. And every year, this energy use needs to be reported to the authorities to comply.

However, proper compliance with this law is a job that is easier said than done with so many considerations at play. If this seems overwhelming to you, then continue reading to learn more about LL84 compliance tips and avoid penalties.

What is Local Law 84 Benchmarking All About?

The effects of climate change have been present for some time. As a result, in 2009, NYC introduced Local Law 84, which mirrors other NYC-specific laws. According to the law, buildings within NYC must report and track their energy usage and consumption.

The main purpose of Local Law 84 is that the energy usage of a building should be visible. It necessitates buildings above 50,000 square feet to benchmark and report their yearly energy usage to the government authorities. They may use the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool to gather accurate data.

Is Compliance under Local Law 84 Good For You?

Compliance with the provisions of Local Law 84 by the city's building owners reaps much for them. Here are some benefits you can enjoy as a result:

Lower emissions: The primary intent behind New York City's Local Law 84 is to reduce building emissions. Given that this law requires you to monitor energy consumption in detail, it also helps identify the points that require improvement. This, of course, makes it easier to devise the right strategies and reduce emissions more effectively.

Improved Energy Efficiency: Increasing the energy efficiency of your building has a direct impact on the environment. When your building consumes less energy than otherwise normally, you are saving more in operational costs. This is even better for large organizations with multiple buildings and complex systems.

Competitive Advantage: Perhaps one of the best reasons why Local Law 84 is important to you is a competitive advantage. The better you understand your energy consumption, the easier it will become to take maximum advantage of limited resources. By leveraging such factors, you can attract more environmentally conscious customers to the business and drive growth.

Better Awareness: Proper awareness is one of the most important tools for combating climate change. This is where Local Law 84 helps generate more awareness about taking the right measures to prevent energy wastage. It can also help promote more green practices within the organization for better results.

What are the Penalties for Non-Compliance with Local Law 84?

Ensuring that effective compliance takes place is the tried and tested way for avoiding LL84 penalties. It can prove expensive and even make business operations run under heavy stress. More often than not, fines against a building failing to comply are up to $2,000 to $500 per day.

If your building has been in violation for six months or more, then the environmental administrator refers it to the Environmental Control Board. According to the gravity of the offence, you might be required to pay even more heavy fines. Although these penalties seem huge, they are pretty easy to avoid with proper compliance.

Compliance Tips for Local Law 84

There are a few ways to ensure efficient compliance with Local Law 84's regulations, and one of them is the NYC energy benchmarking deadlines. So, here are the top five tips to help you succeed in effective compliance:

1. Invest in Energy Efficient Upgrades

One of the perfect ways to dodge penalties for Local Law 84 is by upgrading to more efficient installations. This is the golden chance to ensure building insulation and use proper solutions to reduce energy wastage. Adopting other renewable power resources, such as putting up solar panels or smaller sized wind turbines, is also an excellent idea.

2. Proportionate energy use tracking with the building

Probably the most important aspect of Local Law 84 compliance is tracking the energy consumption and usage of the building. This would give a proper idea of the overall energy usage of the whole building and will identify areas of improvement. Based on this, you can then take the correct measures to deal with these problems, improve the energy efficiency of the building, and benefit from proper compliance.

3. Conduct Energy Audits of Buildings Frequently

One of the most critical steps for proper compliance with Local Law 84 would be regular energy audits in buildings. Energy audit programs provide an overview of whether your entire building's energy-consuming system is being operated within an efficient capacity. This requires checking all insulations, among other things, reviewing the condition of the air conditioning and heating systems, and identifying other potentially problematic issues leading to energy losses.

4. Setting the Right Goals

Most people do not realize this, but setting the right goals is very important in reducing the energy consumption of a building. These goals will help create the right action plan to keep the building's energy consumption under check. Ensure that your plan includes specific timelines, tasks, and responsibilities to realize these goals.

5. Utilize All Resources Available

You can ensure that your NYC building complies with the provisions of Local Law 84 and makes effective use of resources. This not only means making your building more energy efficient but also includes other important things.

You must take opportunities available in grants, tax credits, and incentives. These are fantastic opportunities to offset the costs of any energy-efficient upgrades within the building. Furthermore, never hesitate to take advantage of online resources to ensure proper compliance.

Bottom Line

Perhaps one of the most important provisions to help New York City realize its dream of reducing energy consumption in buildings is Local Law 84. The law will play a very important role in ensuring every building owner benchmarks their energy consumption.

Thus, finding areas of improvement and taking the right measures to address them will become much easier. So, ensure you make the wise choice of learning from the aforementioned compliance tips and avoid any fines and penalties for good.